First Day

Finally, the first day of work!  OK, it was just orientation, but it was what I came here to do: be part of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools.  All of the new international staff, along with all the principals and vice principals, met at the new school site in Astana.
We were educated and inducted.  We learned about the vision, mission, and progress of NIS as well as the more specific areas of curriculum, assessment, and professional development.  But, the highlight of the day was having lunch with my two new colleagues Arsen, the principal and Nurgali, another vice principal.  These two young men have been friends from their teaching days and now run the Taraz campus.  They are smart, passionate, and funny.  They know what needs to be done and are willing to work hard to make it happen.  I am really looking forward to working with them.  I feel very fortunate to have been placed in Taraz.  I can't imagine that my philosophy and vision for a school could mesh any better than it does with them.
Another highlight of the day, was the ceremony that inducted the new staff into the NIS family. I have learned that the Kazahs love a good reason to dress up and celebrate.  There was singing, dancing, costumes and gifts.  I've included a few of pictures:

We were greeted by a student band:

One beautiful girl in a costume for each school:

Two students playing a traditional Kazak instrument.  It only has 2 strings. They were amazing:

My scarf and pin make me official: